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Martha Stewart Has Been Gardening for Over 50 Years-These Are Her All-Time 7 Best Tips for July

By Kaitlyn McInnis Dengarden

Updated July 12, 2026 8:16 AM

It's safe to say that Martha Stewart-the reigning queen of all things home and garden- knows a thing or two about tending to summertime plants. Martha has quietly shared weekly gardening tips over on the Martha Blog for decades now, with some of the best tips relating to the month of July.

Whether you're starting a garden for the first time this summer or you're a seasoned pro looking for lesser-known tips from the queen of gardening herself, we've put together some of the best July-specific garden tips that Martha Stewart has shared over the years, from when to harvest garlic to caring for roses and hydrangeas.

7 Best July Garden Tips Martha Stewart Has Shared Over the Years

July can be a tricky time in the garden, with different plants having very different needs at this time: some will need extra watering to cope with heat and drought, while others will be ready for pruning and/or harvesting. Here are the areas Martha has focused on during this month throughout her long gardening career.

1. Planting Roses

arena photography — Photo by Valeria Bold on Unsplash

Roses are a stunning addition to any garden come summertime-and, according to Martha, there are several key tasks to keep them healthy and happy throughout July. She suggests planting roses where they get at least six hours of sun, giving roots room to spread out comfortably, choosing disease-resistant varieties, watering with the equivalent of one inch of rainfall per week and feeding the roses with slow-release rose formula for best results.

"Hybrid tea roses, also called large-flowered roses, usually have only one flower per stem and tend to flower in three flushes from summer to late autumn," explains Martha. "Floribundas or cluster-flowered roses have many flowers per stem and tend to repeat-flower continuously from summer to late autumn."

2. What to Harvest in July

Planting vegetables can be particularly rewarding; not only are they something to tend to and care for, but you get to eat them after? Sign us up. It can be hard to wait for harvest season, but Martha shared that certain vegetables are ready to go come July. She notes that crops like shelling peas, snap peas and edible pea pods are some of the best come July, while broccoli and cabbage might also be ready with the right amount of rain, sun and heat.

" A lot goes into growing all these foods, including selecting the right plants, preparing the soil, watering, weeding and staking if needed," adds Martha. "It's so rewarding to then see all that comes out of a well-tended garden-and there's still more to come."

3. When and Where to Stake Tomatoes

"Tomatoes, Solanum lycopersicum, grow on vines, so it is crucial to provide strong structures to which the vines can cling and climb," says Martha. "Some use pre-made tomato cages. I like to use tall bamboo stakes for supports."

Tomatoes are some of the absolute best things to come out of at-home summer gardens, and Martha's tips were designed to make sure those tomatoes in your yard come out as healthy and juicy as possible. She suggests staking tomatoes when they're about knee-high using bamboo stakes and jute twine.

Martha pushes the stakes about eight to ten inches into the ground and also avoids using chemically treated wood. She also suggests rotating your tomato beds to reduce the chance of soil-borne disease risk.

4. Harvesting Garlic

July is also the month when garlic is about ready to harvest. "It's garlic picking time when the bottom leaves of the plants start to die back and turn brown, the top leaves are still green and the soil in the bed is completely dry," she explains.

She cautions that harvesting too early runs the risk of leaving cloves too small, while harvesting too late can make the heads separate and become more prone to decay, so it's crucial to watch for the signs and get the timing right.

5. Replanting and Feeding Raised Beds

Whether you're using raised beds or planting directly into the ground, Martha emphasizes the importance of resetting your beds between uses. She suggests clearing and feeding beds before each use, digging holes two to three times as wide and deep as the rootball and removing all rootball wrappings so the roots are not obstructed. "I always encourage my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew to measure everything," she adds.

6. Planting Hydrangeas Thoughtfully

Hydrangeas are another one of those coveted summertime flowers. Martha explicitly says that in order to have the best luck with hydrangeas, it's vital to consider the plant's growing needs and mature size before actually planting, which gives your hydrangeas the best chance at thriving once they're in bloom.

"Hydrangeas have shallow root systems that spread out broadly near the surface of the soil," points out Martha. "Planting them too deep can bury the stems, which can promote root rot."

7. The Easiest Planting Solutions

If your gardening space isn't full sun or if you're apprehensive about planting your first garden, Martha also shared tips on the best shade/perennial planting ideas. She suggests planting boxwood in full sun to partial shade, hostas as easy-care plants, epimediums as long-lived/easy-to-grow foliage plants and phlox for heat and mildew resistance.

"Hostas have easy care requirements which make them ideal for many gardens. Hosta is a genus of plants commonly known as hostas, plantain lilies and occasionally by the Japanese name, giboshi," adds Martha. "They are native to northeast Asia and include hundreds of different cultivars."

This story was originally published July 12, 2026 at 7:45 AM.